§ 34. Mr. Geoffrey Cooperasked the President of the Board of Trade whether British publishers are drawing royalties 1321 on records now being made in this country by a firm known as London Records on the works of American writers and being exported to the United States of America; and whether the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1911, are being complied with in regard to the conditions for publication in Great Britain of the originals of works by these American writers, records of which are now being made in this country.
§ Mr. H. WilsonIf a record of a copyright musical work is made in this country royalties are payable to the owner of the copyright, but I cannot say whether payments have been made in any particular case. There is no registration of copyright, and the question whether the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1911, relating to copyright in a work first published outside the United Kingdom have been complied with, can only be determined by reference to the facts of each case, or, in case of dispute, by the courts.
§ Mr. CooperIn so far as my right hon. Friend's Department has made a decision on American films in order to save dollars, will he give consideration to the possibility of earning dollars by obtaining royalties from at least one British song on one side of records being made in this country and exported to America?
§ Mr. WilsonWe have explored very Cully the possibility of earning additional dollars with gramophone records in the United States, and a lot has been done by way of exports there in the last few months. I will give further thought to the point made by my hon. Friend.